Why parents should think about summer time now
Doctors say now is the time for parents to establish routines with their children that will make it easier for them to adjust to the time change.
It may still be months away, but amid New York’s summer heat, many are looking forward to the cooler, shorter days of late fall.
A sign that fresh, cool days are ahead is daylight saving time, when the clocks go back an hour on Sunday, November 3.
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on that day, which is the official time when all our clocks go back to standard time. Then local time immediately changes to 1 a.m. and people “gain” an extra hour.
Here are some facts about daylight saving time:
Singular term: It is called “summer time” and not “environmental time”.
Timing: Since 2007 it begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
Origins: It began in Canada in 1908, was popularized in Germany during World War I, and became the U.S. standard in 1966.
State exemptions: This holiday is not observed in Hawaii, Arizona and several US territories.
Sunshine Protection Act: The Sunshine Protection Act proposed implementing year-round daylight saving time, but approval is still pending.
Global practice: It is used in over 70 countries with different start and end dates.
Regulation: The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees daylight saving time and U.S. time zones.
Technology and security: Telephones set themselves automatically; manual clocks and smoke alarm batteries require attention.
Future postponement: Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9, 2025, and ends on November 2, 2025.
When is the shortest day of 2024?
The shortest day of the year is the first day of winter or the winter solstice, which falls on the day in 2024. Saturday, December 21.
As winter approaches, the sun rises later and sets earlier each day, and there are fewer hours of daylight overall – the tilt of the Earth causes the Northern Hemisphere to point away from the sun.
Features reports from USA Today Network journalists Alexis Simmerman and Cheyenne Derksen
